Among other outrageous statements during the Crandall Canyon mine crisis, Murray has insisted that the accident was caused by an earthquake despite contrary statements by government seismologists, and railed against the campaign against global warming. The non-union Crandall Canyon mine has been cited for numerous safety violations, including 15 in July.

But here is the most disturbing aspect of this for Ohio, as explained by Callahan:

Murray owns and operates Ohio’s two biggest underground mines, Powhatan #6 in Belmont County and the Century Mine on the Belmont/Monroe border. In 2005 (the last year for which the state has data online) these two mines employed over 600 of Ohio’s 1,700 coal miners, and over 900 of the state’s 2,500 total coal industry employees. Murray’s operations accounted for almost 75% of Ohio’s underground coal production, and 45% of all Ohio coal mined that year.